Murray grinds out win

Andy Murray battled his way into the third round of the French Open with a gutsy 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 7-5 victory over dangerous lucky loser Simone Bolelli this afternoon.

The world number four struggled to find his best form in very tricky conditions but showed spirit to come through in straight sets on Court Philippe Chatrier.

An opponent ranked 126th in the world who lost in the final round of qualifying did not look too daunting on paper but Bolelli was in the top 40 two years ago and is no mug, particularly on clay.

The Italian showed just that in the first game, pushing Murray way behind the baseline with big groundstrokes and forcing him to save two break points.

Bolelli was not to be denied in the Scot’s next service game, though, shrugging off the loss of three break points to take a fourth when Murray double-faulted.

But, having barely missed a ball in the first three games, the Italian then committed four unforced errors in a row to hand his advantage straight back.

Bolelli was not done, though, breaking again to lead 3-2 as Murray struggled for consistency on his serve in cool and windy conditions.

The fourth seed was in the ascendancy if he could keep his opponent on his backhand but that was proving easier said than done.

A break point came and went in the eighth game but, with Bolelli serving for the set, Murray dug in and levelled at 5-5.

The wind whipping up the dry clay was making it difficult for both players but the 24-year-old used it to his advantage to save two more break points and then created two set points in the next game only for Bolelli to come up with the goods.

The tie-break was a nervy affair, not helped by moving spectators delaying the resumption of play after the change of ends, but it was Murray who kept his cool the best to clinch the set with a drilled backhand down the line.